Should You Accept An Insurance Offer After A Car Accident?

3 January 2019
 Categories: Law, Blog

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One thing that many people experience trouble with is knowing how to handle the settlement of a car accident. If you were not to blame for the accident, then you should be able to collect money from the at-fault driver's insurance policy for the damages you experienced from the accident, but how do you know if you should accept an offer that the insurance company gives you? If you are in this position, here are several factors that will help you determine if you should accept the offer from the insurance company.

Is It Close to the Amount You Had in Mind?

The first thing you should do is think about how much money you would be happy and satisfied receiving for your settlement. When you know what this amount is, you can compare it to the amount the insurance company is offering to pay you. Is the amount more than you expected to receive? If so, you might want to accept it. If it is not even close to the amount you hoped for, then you may need to keep negotiating with the insurance company, or you may need to hire a lawyer to negotiate for you.

Does It Clearly Cover All of Your Damages?

Secondly, you should compare the amount the insurance company is offering to the total amount of damages you have from the accident. If you have $5,000 in damages that you can account for from the accident, how does the insurance company's settlement compare to this? If it is right at this amount, you might be able to get more. If the offer is for double what you have in expenses, then it might be an offer you should consider accepting.

Will You Have Long-Term Injuries to Deal With?

The other factor you will need to consider is whether you will experience long-term effects from the accident. If you expect to have lifelong effects from the injuries you sustained, you should probably avoid settling the case without the help of an attorney, as it can be difficult to determine how much lifelong injuries are truly worth.

If you are not sure what to do about the offer the insurance company is giving you, consider auto accident lawyer services. A lawyer that helps settle car accidents can give you legal advice about what you should do and may be able to help you receive more compensation than the amount the insurance company is offering.